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Rebel Transmissions: Homecoming

Silly computer… you think a messed-up monitor can keep me from writing about Star Wars? You thought wrong. And so in continuing getting caught up with these Rebel Transmissions, I bring you some riveting discussion on the absolute gem known as Homecoming! Forgive my rambling I’m so excited about writing this one I’m a little all over the place. Let’s get to it already!NOTE: Contains spoilers from Episode VII, The Clone Wars episodes Innocents Of Ryloth, Liberty On Ryloth and Supply Lines, and Rebels episodes The Protector Of Concord Dawn, and Homecoming.

It shouldn’t be so difficult to nab a few supplies from the Imperials right? This is just a normal cut-and-dry run right? Eh not so much today. The Ghost and Phoenix crew got what they came for, but at an unfortunate price. RIP Phoenix Squad Girl 😦 Hera is well aware things haven’t been going as easy as they were a season ago. Sato knows of something that could help though — a big ol’ Imperial ship ripe for the Rebs’ taking, and a handful of freedom fighters… right there in the Ryloth system. Time for the Captain to make a call. A call she seems… well, less than thrilled about making. Might have something to do with the fact she’s addressing the leader of this cell “father”. *Dramatic pause*
And then Twilight abruptly ended the dramatic pause so she could fangirl over the presence of Cham Syndulla, Hera’s backstory, and Kanan being incredibly adorably awkward. It’s not abnormal for me to want to discuss a flood of things all at once when blogging about a SW something but this one is really hard to sort out without spewing my fangirling over three systems. But I shall tryz my best. First order of business is 100% the Kanan awkdorableness. And I know “awkdorable” isn’t a word but it is now. Bro’s all nerves when it comes to meeting Cham, who is not only a big deal Clone Wars hero who served with Jedi he knew, but is also, well, Hera’s dad. Ohohoho I enjoyed this whole little scene too too much… Kanan attempting to spiff himself up, attempting and somewhat failing at keeping his cool (“JUST STAY CALM!”), and of course, getting the kids’ names completely mixed up (Ezra’s little head shake in response is just perfect) XD Prior to this episode, I’ve thought up a few stories as to how the potential meeting might’ve gone, mostly a lot of awkward-funny protective-dad stuff. Lucasfilm took what I’d always wanted to see and made it a thousand times better than I could’ve done it. I simultaneously died laughing and died of Kanera-related feels the entirety of this little nugget. It didn’t occur to me until I watched the Recon that some of this awkdorbsness might’ve had to do with Cham’s connections to Kanan’s past as well, but hey my first instinct is to fangirl and I trust my instincts. So now that the unavoidable romance-related fangirling is over, we move on to the next area of nerding out, Cham Syndulla. Ah yes as soon as I found out how Hera related to the Syndullas all that time ago, I was dying to learn more and maybe, just maybe, see this boss twi’lek walk into Rebels. Plus, watching TCW episodes Liberty On Ryloth and Supply Lines didn’t help because I spent the whole time saying “HOLY CRUD THEIR FACES ARE SO MUCH ALIKE…!”. Yeah Kanan and Sabine aren’t the only ones who are huge fans. I’ve always found him a cool character, but came to love him even more this past year having understood his ties to Hera. And so here we are! Finally getting to reunite with him at last! And he still is a seriously cool dude, full of an honorable confidence and a killer smile. With fearless comrades Gobi and Numa(!!) by his side, he’s everything the history holos make him out to be. Though we do need to note that he greets Kanan first and Hera doesn’t drop any pleasantries. Something’s not quiiiiite right here still, and that becomes more evident during the briefing…
So problem: Hera wants that Imperial ship for the mini-Alliance’s use, Cham wants it destroyed since that same ship hurt his people so many times. You know how awkward it gets when you’re at the dinner table and two family members start arguing but they start out really quietly and passive-aggressively in an attempt to keep it from getting awkward but it still gets awkward anyway? *Takes breath* Well that’s pretty much what happened here. YOU DO NOT MESS WITH BOSS LADY CAPTAIN SYNDULLA AND HER PLANS!! But similarly CHAM IS BOSS LADY’S FATHER SO YOU DON’T MESS WITH HIS PLANS!! And Kanan’s all “Heyyy everybody howzabout we all just work together and hug it out?”. Cham and his crew seem to be pleased with Kanan’s answer and go with the plan only because the Jedi goes with the plan. Hera’s day just gets worse all the time. Is it just me or does Cham look a little smug about all this? *Cough* makes sense in retrospect… either way, we get why Hera needed some alone time after this. While she did some therapeutic bolt-tightening, she explained to Ezra a little of what went down. How the Empire’d cost her family and homeworld much and how it sorta made her dad put fighting over family… at least, the family he had left, anyway. So considering all things it shouldn’t be a surprise that Hera and Cham aren’t exactly on the best of terms. And then Mr. Syndulla decides to interrupt for a moment. Ezra decides now’s a good time to go, but also drops some serious wisdom before leaving “More important than family? There’s nothing more important to me.” #SickBurn #YouJustGotServedButDidntRealizeIt Funny, wasn’t it only a season ago that Hera was dropping mind-blowing shuts-everyone-up wisdom on Ezra? Whoaaa dude again #Sick. #Burn. And yes I realize hashtags don’t work on WordPress but I don’t care it just felt right. Anyway, yeah… so there they were, Hera and her dad and her droid all alone. The conversation starts on Chopper, as Cham recognizes the rustbucket as a droid she’d found during the Clone Wars. Wow not only do we get a heap of backstory on Hera today but we even get a good chunk of Chop’s origins in here too! (Though #rude don’t refer to Chopper as a junk pile… at least when he’s right there in the room with you; that’s just common courtesy) But we’ll talk more about that another day. For now… yeah… the Syndullas have other things to talk about. So again, long as I’ve known Cham was Hera’s father, I’ve had plenty of ponderings on where that left them now. Was he still in the business of rebelling? Did he support her decision to go off Rebel-ing? Heck, I didn’t know if he was even alive or not until this episode aired. After all, when Hera remarked “we’ve all lost enough family to the Empire” a number of episodes ago, it could’ve easily referred to Cham. Though technically I suppose it could still refer to him, at least in an emotional way, in that he’s not the same man he was before the Empire royally screwed things up, in addition to losing her mom. I’d had the tiniest hope that maybe things were better somehow and that he’d supported her mission from the get-go but well… I’d always allowed for the thought that that might not be the case. Hera goes for the galaxy at large while Cham aims for just Ryloth. Both noble missions, but it’s hard for either of them to see the nobility of each other’s missions when they so firmly believe that neither are what’s right for the galaxy. It’s easy to side with Hera, especially as her legit Rylothian accent sparks up and makes her bossladyness all the more boss, and of course, since we see most of the war from her perspective and understand her point of view more clearly. It makes it equally easy to discredit Cham for his seemingly small-minded view and the fact he dissed her lifework and her droid, but when I think of how difficult it must be have lost your family in some way to the Empire (in one way physically, in the other way by physical and emotional distance as Hera chose to fight the Empire on a bigger scale), I can allow myself to see both sides of the situation. Cham’s always been a bit different in the way he does things and the choices he makes. After all, once upon a time he was hesitant to work with the great Mace Windu — all because of political differences! But he always means well, ultimately. So boring philosophical stuff over. Bottom line, no, the conversation did not end well. Poooooor Chopper getting caught in the middle of all that. And poor Hera, too, because you know she didn’t really want things to go that way. I mean, turning things into a shouting match is not how she rolls. Hera’s more often than not been the peacekeeper, the one everyone else talks to when they have a problem. Since when does Hera have any problems, y’know? Because she’s so great at dropping wisdom and being a great listener and friend/surrogate mom we sorta forget she has problems like anyone else. Kind of like how The Protector Of Concord Dawn reminded us she’s not above physical injury or accidents, we’re reminded that yeah SHE’S HUMAN. Or perhaps the SW-correct term would be SHE’S A SENTIENT BEING. But knowing this doesn’t make her any less of an amazing character, only makes her more relatable to those of us who can only dream of possessing her levels of bossladyness and kindness.
So considering all that shook down today, it’s no surprise that Hera’s not interested in hearing her dad’s Clone Wars stories. Hehe her face is pretty much the same as mine whenever I hear someone hate on SW 😛 I do love the enthusiasm Cham puts into his storytelling though. Who can forget that thrilling adventure when Mace and Cham and the clones and twi’leks bonded together and liberated Ryloth and whupped Wat Tambor and his crew?? RIVETING!! And oh so many nostalgia feels! Kanan is all “OMG HERA YOUR DAD IS SO COOL!!” and at this point it’s hard to tell who’s fanboying over who XD This does nothing to shake her opinion on her dad at the moment. Though Hera doesn’t quite feel like agreeing to the statement, I find Kanan’s compliment on “seeing a lot of him in you” to be too darn sweet… after all, it’s kinda true y’know :3 And I just realized I’ve spent two hours on just eight minutes of this episode so I better get a move on already. But hey you try writing with this many feels in a short period of time!
So how exactly do you go about grabbing hold of an Imperial cruiser? Well, it all starts with a TIE Bomber and Kanan’s spot-on imitation of a Bomber pilot. With some fellow Rebels on their tail, our heroes look like any other innocent Imperial spacecraft. Then Hera plays her part and does a spot-on imitation of a crash landing in the hangar. Spot-on mostly because that’s pretty much exactly what she did. Seriously these things really could use some seatbelts of some kind. So the Empire totally bought it and everything was going pretty well right up until it didn’t… precisely the moment when it became clear to the Ghost crew that the twi’lek fighters had other plans. More so precisely when Numa PULLED A STINKIN’ BLASTER ON THEM!! It wasn’t part of the plan for Sabine to do a spot-on imitation of TR-8R, but it happened anyway. But yeah that was terrifying. We didn’t realize for a few moments that she’d had it on stun so there was a brief horrifying moment where it seemed darling little Numa and diligent loyal Gobi KILLED THEM! Y’know Cham I get you want to inspire your people with a little anti-Empire fireworks show but if you wanted to potentially patch things up with your daughter… this was not the way to do it. Granted, despite I was pretty shocked and disgusted at Cham’s decision, he got some cool points back as he and his crew pwn those ‘troopers. May be traitors but still one fiercely cool crew, am I right? Though once we go back to Hera, he loses cool points again because he cuffed his daughter to the seat. Classy move, Mr. Syndulla. Thankfully, the effects of the stunning don’t last long on the Ghost family, ’cause Hera still intends to stop her dad and keep this ship in one piece. Zeb and Sabine take on Gobi and Numa and a slew of stormtroopers along the way. OK still despite Numa’s betrayed the snot out of the Rebs, it’s still truly truly cool seeing her in Rebels all grown up. And hey, she could’ve grown up to do anything, she was just one incredibly adorable little girl, after all, who might or might not remember that one day she called clone troopers her brothers. Seeing that she chose to fight for the right thing, and not only that but she’s stellar at it, is the perfect capper to her legacy. Waxer and Boil would be proud :3 But anyway right now most of us have a problem with Numa’s choices. She’s just being loyal, I guess, so you gotta give her some credit despite pointing a weapon at our heroes is a major party foul. Numa warns Cham of the Rebels getting back on their tails, and Mr. Syndulla assures her he can handle his boss lady child if she and Gobi handle the rest of ’em. And with the way Cham knocks down those stormtroopers, well… it definitely gives the impression he’s right. Yikes. But guess what? The bossness in this family runs both ways as potential son-in-law and honorary grandson absolutely TEAR IT UP. Ahhhh it’s too cool watching Kanan and Ezra use the Force so interconnectively and so flawlessly. You thought doors and blasterfire could keep them down? Please. All #FamilyGoals are to be as cool and united as the Ghost family is. Also, applause is in order for Ezra mastering his first Jedi mind trick! Kanan looks so terribly proud it gives me many feels. He did well even if he did lay it on a bit thick “I reallllly mean it… this is the captain” XD XD Best use of mind trick since “…and you’ll drop your weapon”? Your call. Anyway, so basically the bridge is no longer on their list of obstacles and all the storms are abandoning ship. And Sabine makes quick work of Cham’s cronies with a nice zapping from a mouse droid, so #win. Unfortunately that’s where the wins stop because as Hera and the crew find out a bit too late, Cham turned off the hyperdrive. Greaaaaaat. Hera tries again to explain how much better having a ship to use against the Empire would be than just blowing it up to make a show, but once Cham gets his mind set on something, he sticks to it. To a slightly unhealthy extent. And with Imperial reinforcements on their way, this is really a bad time to have an unhealthy obsession of any kind except maybe an unhealthy obsession with NOT DYING!! It’s only when Hera decides to talk about the heart of the matter over the logic that she finally starts to get through. When she tells her dad how he inspired her to fight for others, and how far that desire’s led her… it gives reason for Gobi and Numa to switch sides pretty quickly, and gives Cham a moment, just a smidge of a moment, to give his little girl a chance for once. No one didn’t follow up with a triumphant “YAAAAS!!” I don’t think 🙂 For once the family’s working together on all fronts as each and everyone mans the guns and knocks down TIE after TIE and bomber after bomber. On a brief random note, let me just say it made me smile a little to hear Zeb refer to them as “lousy Imps”; I’ve been using that shortened term on the blog for a while so it was nice to know it’s a canon phrase 🙂 Things go pretty well up until one torpedo fries the ship’s controls and the craft starts to descend. It’s only when Cham grabs hold of the yoke along with Hera that they’re able to get it back under control. AWWZ SWEET DADDY-DAUGHTER FEELS!! Sorry anyway, now’s the time for a “lousy Sabine plan”! Or better yet a “lousy Sabine-and-Ezra plan”! Cham’s willing to help though he has no idea what to think of their madcap methods. And ultimately, hey, is there any better recipe for success than bomber + Force push + explosives? In this situation, I think not. Those reinforcements went down just like that. So how’s about that? The mini-Alliance gets their ship, Ryloth gets its fireworks show, long-broken family ties get some major healing, and Twilight gets feels. Beautiful, just beautiful. And then, before their goodbyes, Cham and Hera finally get to hugging it out. That’s what was missing beforehand! A sweet tender daddy-daughter hug! Hera’s a dreamer like her mom, but learned to be a leader like her dad. So if you think about it… we owe this great twi’lek some major thanks. Because without Cham having been a strong, inspiring leader to Ryloth… his young daughter likely wouldn’t have set off that first small spark of rebellion in a long chain of sparks that would lead to the firey blaze that continues to get bigger by the day, the blaze that is clearly seen in the six individuals who stand together now.
*Sniff* Is someone cutting onions?? WHO AM I KIDDING I’M A HOT MESS RIGHT NOW. I LOVE STAR WARS SO MUCHHHHHHH. *Cough* sorry I really should stop now. Congrats for making it to the end! You deserve a medal! Until the next Transmission…